And it's really crazy how it gives the impression of being fake. I'm so used to 8 bit tunes being computer generated that obviously it's just overlaid on the video.posted by DU at 4:57 PM on July 22, 2010

Reminds me of the 80s Baldwin Fun Machine, which is still available here and there for ... a song.

If you insist on 8-bit but don't have time for DIY, there may be a few SidStations floating around out there. There are also several 8-bit plugins to be used with sequencing software like Garageband, Logic, etc. Pick up an old iMac & cheap MIDI controller & you're off.posted by Twang at 12:26 AM on July 23, 2010

Yeah this is really awesome. On just a hardware hacking level it's a neat project, but I think the best part is that he designed a pretty user-friendly system for playing authentic chiptune music live. Most chiptune musicians use an old-school tracker where the song is built note-by-note as one long sequence. He added a lot of neat tricks (auto-portamento up, auto-arpeggio, transposing a recordable step-sequenced phrase via pedals, attaching drum beats to notes, etc.) to do on the fly what most other chiptune musicians sequence note-by-note, all while still using an authentic 8-bit synth. You could set up something similar using a VST 8-bit synth in Ableton live or whatever and a MIDI keyboard, but I don't think anyone has.posted by burnmp3s at 6:39 AM on July 23, 2010

This contraption is absolutely awesome.posted by wierdo at 11:28 PM on July 23, 2010

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